The quest to build robots that look and behave like humans

Such humanoid robots are now starting to work in the real world. Amazon, the e-commerce giant, is testing Digit, a robot made by Agility, in helping its warehouse employees with repetitive tasks. Close to two metres tall, with skinny bird legs and a flat tubular head, Digit can carry empty yellow bins from a shelf to a nearby conveyor belt. Boston Dynamics, a Massachusetts-based robotics firm, plans to use its latest humanoid robot, Atlas, in the manufacturing operations of its owner, Hyundai, a South Korean carmaker.